ocean blue, island sunset
by cronashy-absentia
Summary: Atsushi's simple, albeit homeless, life in Kanto is shaken up when he rescues a man that doesn't want to be saved. After taking him to Alola, Dazai reveals to Atsushi the world of Island Trials, malasada, exotic Pokemon, and a mafia slowly stretching its control over every island. But with Pokemon by his side, Atsushi should be unstoppable, right?
1. Stray and Silver Waves

ocean blue, island sunset

1: Stray and Silver Waves

* * *

The ocean stretched outside the large glass window, blue and glittering like diamonds. The infinite expanse of it perhaps would've impressed a lesser man, one that hadn't seen greater treasures in his home, or one that hadn't forgotten how to see the value in things they couldn't buy. Still, it was relaxing to watch. Somehow. Maybe it was its constant motion, the way that it could never be exactly the same twice.

The parlor door opening behind him broke through the room's silence. Small, hesitant feet tapped the tile, giving their owner away.

"Yes, Alcott?" he said slowly, and he smirked a little when he heard his assistant jump.

"S-sir," she stammered, stepping forward slightly. "We were conducting further experiments on Subject: Frost…"

He hummed a little in approval, and she continued, her stutter worsening with every sentence.

"B-but… There were c-complications… And, um…"

He clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes a little. "And what, Alcott?" he snapped, turning around to look at her. Her face had gone white as a sheet and she wouldn't meet his eyes, while her hands shook so much that he could hear the paper she was holding as it crinkled. "We can handle an unsuccessful experiment," he reminded her, and she nodded.

"Yes, b-but…" she trailed off again, silent. He only had to take one step forward before her words tumbled out of her mouth in a panicked frenzy.

"Thetestsubjectescaped!"

She immediately seemed to curl up in defense, holding her papers in front of her face as if they'd shield her. Her boss paused. "Could you run that by me again, Alcott?" he spoke slowly.

She gulped, pulling the paper down from her face ever so slightly, enough that he could see her eyes darting around as if they were chasing an erratic speck of dust. "The test subject… The result of Experiment: Frost… E-escaped, sir…" she said.

He did nothing for a moment, still processing what she had said. There was too much to consider, like what the implications of this failure could be, how many people were responsible, if he could he afford to fire anyone, if he could he afford to let Frost _get away_ …

He closed his eyes with a deep sigh. "What exactly happened?" he asked. Alcott looked over her notes.

"Well, f-first, Froslass rebelled," she said, "And practically took over Subject: Frost. It f-fought its way out of the lab and the whole structure, escaping t-to the outside…"

He stared at her with narrow eyes. "Outside?"

She nodded nervously.

"Out into the middle of the ocean?"

"It flew, sir…"

He gave the outside view a passing glare. "So we were unable to control Froslass?"

"Yes sir…

"Can anyone?"

Alcott frantically flipped through her notes. "According to its file, th-there was one that was able to control it in the past…"

He watched her out of the corner of his eye. "And who would that be?"

She gulped. "Its trainer… Subject: Mimic…"

His gaze moved to the ground. As he turned away from her again, he weighed his options. Mimic was incredibly hard to deal with, but at the risk of his research being revealed to the public…

"Call Mori," he commanded, and Alcott gave a little yelp as she jumped to attention. "Tell him to bring Mimic here if he wants my support to continue."

"Yes sir," she said quickly, leaving just as hurriedly. He let out another sigh as the door slammed shut.

"If Frost talks," he muttered to himself, "she dies."

* * *

Fading sunlight blanketed the forest as if it were alight with flame. In the few minutes before the nighttime creatures began their routine and the daytime creatures ended theirs, there was a moment of silence broken only by rustling leaves.

"Is that enough?" Atsushi grunted, pushing dry leaves into a pile. He glanced over at the Cubone next to him, who had declined work in favor of finishing off his dinner of soft berries. The Pokemon looked from him to the leaf pile, narrowed its eyes, and shook its head once. Atsushi groaned.

"But all the leaves are falling apart and crumbling…" he mumbled. "It's impossible to make a good bed out of leaves at this time of year. Why don't you burrow or something?"

Cubone shook its head again without even looking up. Atsushi frowned. "Please pull your weight."

Cubone's only response was to grab a berry out of his pile and toss it at Atsushi, not-entirely-accidentally hitting him in the center of his face and sniggering. Atsushi rubbed his nose but munched on his dinner anyway as he continued to pull leaves into their nest for the night.

An abrupt noise split the air above them. Atsushi turned his head skyward just in time to catch a glimpse of a frantic flock of Pidgey, fleeing the forest just north of them, crying out urgently.

"Wonder what spooked them," murmured Atsushi. He jumped when Cubone stood up suddenly, waving his bone club around. "What's wrong, Cu-!" he was cut off as the Pokemon grabbed his hand, pulling on him and squeaking frantically. Confused but trusting in his friend, Atsushi moved to his feet and let Cubone lead him, hunched over so he could continue to hold his paw.

Only then did he hear the buzzing.

Atsushi paled. In one swift motion, he scooped Cubone into his arms and began running. He had heard that sound before, and he knew what made it. A quick glance behind his shoulder confirmed his suspicion; a swarm of Beedrill rushed through the treetops, eyes practically glowing with anger, brandishing their fierce stingers like swords.

But another sight caused Atsushi to stop in his tracks. Cubone struggled in his arms, squealing as if asking why they'd stopped running. Atsushi looked down at him, eyes wide and face lined with panic.

"There's a man back there!"

Running ahead of the group of Beedrill, a man sprinted wildly. Cubone tugged on Atsushi's threadbare shirt, pointing in the opposite direction of the bloodthirsty swarm. Atsushi hesitated.

"We can't just leave him!"

Cubone nodded frantically, effectively communicating that _yes_ , of course they could leave whatever idiot that had walked right into Beedrill-infested woods to his fate. Yet, despite his protests, Atsushi set Cubone on the ground.

"We need to see if we can call off their attack!" he called out. "Try using Growl, Cubone!" Despite his attempted air at confidence, Atsushi shook like a hunting Vibrava. Cubone shook as well, but he put all four paws on the ground and let out a trembling growl.

The man rushed towards them, only coming to a stop when he tripped on a stray tree root and fell flat on his face directly in front of them. Atsushi jumped, a schoolboy _squeak_ escaping his lips. "Louder, Cubone!"

The Pokemon shot him a glare, and Atsushi could practically hear him shout that he was doing the best he could. But he whipped back around, opening his mouth wide and emitting a louder growl at the now-too-close-for-comfort Beedrill.

The swarm seemed to slow. Again, Cubone growled, his small tail lashing back and forth. Atsushi resisted the urge to nervously chew his nails into bloody stumps. The Beedrill halted entirely, the noise of their buzzing wings filling the air like helicopter blades.

Once more, Cubone growled, lifting himself up to swing his bone club for good measure. Slowly, and to Atsushi's extreme relief, the swarm began to recede. He didn't care why; it could've been thanks to Cubone, or they were far enough outside their territory that the Beedrill didn't care anymore, or they decided that stabbing two humans and a Cubone to death wasn't worth their time. In any case, Atsushi finally allowed himself to take a breath as the Beedrill turned their backs, their noise fading into the sound of the wind.

"Great job, Cubone," he said, patting Cubone's head. The Ground-type Pokemon nodded, crossing its small arms.

A feeble groan on the ground in front of them reminded Atsushi of their other problem. He stumbled forward abruptly, falling to his knees next to the man and shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay? Did they sting you? What did you-Cubone that's not helping!" he shouted. Cubone shot him another small glare, but refrained from hitting the man with his club a third time.

Atsushi looked down at the man again, who was suddenly glaring at him with as much intensity as Cubone. Atsushi jumped back in surprise.

"Why'd you save me?" he grumbled into the dirt. "Can you imagine how liberating it would be to be stabbed directly in the heart by a Beedrill?"

Atsushi's look of bewilderment caused him to strongly resemble a Psyduck. "I… No? And, you were running away…"

The man slowly picked himself up, stretching out his back with a _pop_ , brushing dirt off his coat and suit. "Well, I suppose I was," he admitted nonchalantly, "But I only wished to be attacked by one Beedrill. The swarm was too much; getting hit multiple times in regions that aren't vital would only be pointless and painful."

"That's…" Atsushi sputtered, searching for the right word. "… Messed up."

The man raised one eyebrow.

"I'm right though, aren't I? It would be better to be stabbed once than multiple times, right?"

Atsushi's eyes darted around. "Uh, yes! I mean no! I mean…" He shook his head as if to clear it. Standing, he picked Cubone up into his arms once again. "You were… _Trying_ to get killed?"

The man grinned. "Why of course!" he remarked brightly, as if he had just said something like "What a lovely day we're having!"

Cubone exchanged a look with Atsushi, who picked his head up and smiled nervously. "I'm just gonna go, then…" he said slowly, backing up. The man turned to look him in the eye again, causing Atsushi to jump a little. Whoever this was looked him up and down, and Atsushi squirmed a little, self-conscious of his dirty face and tattered clothes. With unreadable brown eyes, the man looked back towards him.

"Do you live out here?"

Atsushi only hesitated a moment. He nodded, hanging his head, as if his homelessness was his fault. As he understood, it was.

The man placed his hands in his coat pockets, a gentle smile forming on his lips. Atsushi still didn't trust his eyes, though; they were too guarded, yet abyssal, as if they held a world of secrets.

"What's your name?"

Atsushi blinked, lifting his head. It had been so long since anyone had asked him that. He forced his name out gradually, almost having to remember it as he went.

"A-Atsushi Naka… Nakajima." He hated his stutter.

The man continued to smile, holding his hand out. Atsushi stared at it as he would a foreign object.

"Well, Atsushi Naka-Nakajima," he chortled, "Call me Dazai."

Atsushi looked back up at him discerningly, still holding tight to Cubone with both arms, who reached out his nose to sniff Dazai's hand. He withdrew it, chuckling.

"No handshake then, eh?" he said. "Anyway, Atsushi, I'd like to make you an offer. You'd get money, fame, and a place to stay. How about it?"

Atsushi raised an eyebrow while Cubone let out a small growl. "What's the catch?"

Dazai continued to smile. "Nothing. Oh, but you'd have to come with me to Alola. Is that a catch?"

Atsushi balked. "Alola?!" he repeated. "That's thousands of miles away!"

Dazai shrugged. "I suppose so," he said.

Cubone looked ready to beat him senseless. Atsushi almost felt like letting him. "This sounds an awful lot like a kidnapping."

Dazai chuckled again, which didn't help Atsushi's anxiousness. "Would a kidnapper offer you a snack?" he asked, reaching into his coat pocket.

"Um, yes," Atsushi said, drawing back still. Dazai paused for a minute.

"Hm. I suppose they would," he said, but quickly smiled again. "No matter. You can have this," he beamed as he pulled a plastic-wrapped bun from his pocket and presented it to Atsushi. "I was going to eat it myself later, but you look hungry."

Cubone managed to wiggle one arm free and wasted no time in swatting at Dazai's outstretched hand with his bone club. Dazai opened up the package, casually breaking a piece off of the bun and sticking it in his own mouth.

"See? Not drugged," he said, pressing the treat forward again. "No Sleep Powder or anything. You'll like it."

Atsushi looked down at Cubone. The small Pokemon met his eye, grunted a little, and turned back to Dazai. He sniffed a little at the treat, stretching his neck forward. After a moment, he stopped, snorted again, and Atsushi could feel him relax in his arms. Atsushi exhaled slowly, and he gradually reached one arm forward to accept what Dazai offered. After peeling back the wrapping as best he could with his arms still around Cubone, he lifted the treat to his lips.

Flavor burst inside Atsushi's mouth. His eyes widened in wonder; the bun's sweet filling spread over his tongue like a taste of heaven itself, and the soft bread's texture felt as if he were biting into a cloud.

Dazai smirked as Atsushi wolfed down the bun, only pausing to pick pieces off and hand them to Cubone. "I take it you enjoy it?"

Atsushi nodded vigorously. "Whuff ith thith?" he said through a mouthful of bread and syrupy filling. Dazai chuckled.

"Malasada," he said, "And there's plenty more where that came from, back in Alola."

Atsushi licked his lips as Cubone poured the stray crumbs from the wrapper into his mouth. Finally, after he had licked all the filling from around his mouth and teeth, Atsushi peered up at Dazai and asked expectantly, "So when do we leave?"


	2. Clouds and Stretching Claws

ocean blue, island sunset

2: Clouds and Stretching Claws

* * *

The darkness of his room felt comfortable. It wrapped around him like a blanket, cold but welcome as a friend with which he'd shared all his secrets. The dark didn't care. He could take off his coat in the dark, baring his skin, allowing his own darkness to seep into the air…

"Akutagawa?"

He pulled his head up. The ink in the air crept back, shying away from her voice.

"Wait," he rasped, but coughed to clear his throat. "Wait," he repeated, clearer. He pulled his shirt and coat of his bed and threw them over himself only slightly huffily; he would've been more upset if she hadn't left him alone for as long as she had.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened and Akutagawa blinked in the light. Higuchi frowned.

"Have you been sitting here in the dark again?" she sighed, striding over to the curtains and prying them open, only causing Akutagawa to shy back further.

"That's none of your business," he huffed. She paused.

"Right… Sorry."

He didn't acknowledge her apology. "What are you doing in here?"

Higuchi left the second curtain where it was, only half-pulled from the window, letting a crooked beam of light slice through his room. "Official business, sir. Mori would like to meet with you." She added a small bow.

Akutagawa's frown deepened. "We had nothing scheduled."

Higuchi looked him in the eye. She was one of the only people, especially among his subordinates, that dared to do so. "He didn't tell me why. I'm sorry."

He sighed, looking almost scornfully towards the door. He thought for only the briefest of moments that he looked that way at everything, but he brushed it off.

"He said it was urgent?"

"Not entirely, but his request should be heeded today."

Akutagawa acknowledged her with a grunt while striding past her, his coat billowing behind him. "Make sure my lunch is prepared for me by the time I get back."

Higuchi bowed forward. "Yes sir."

Akutagawa narrowed his eyes as he stepped outside the building. Po Town's typical rain had happened to pause that day, letting bright sunlight dry up puddles and cast its uncommon light on the town's crude graffiti and dark alleys. The area had used to be fraught with troublemaking kids and scum that had dared to call themselves "gangs." It didn't take long for them to clear out when the Mafia took up residence there.

Things were well-kept now, and some of the old residents had returned, none the wiser. But Akutagawa stood on the controlling side of the farce. The people that walked the city streets with smiles glowing on their ignorant faces couldn't comprehend, or perhaps they _chose_ not to see, the underbelly of the city: the Island Mafia, present in every building, every shop, every _corner_ of Po Town. Akutagawa sometimes wondered whether or not the dull citizens of the town would ever realize what was going on; but then again, if they hadn't figured it out already, chances are they never would.

Mori Ougai's home loomed over the city like a petrified titan, grand and dark. Akutagawa had heard rumors that the house had been owned by the leader of the so-called "Aether Guild" before he had moved to his artificial island. It wasn't any concern of his, though, so he didn't probe further and let rumors be rumors.

The elevator whirred softly as it glided upward. For half of the building, only the city's gray, stoic wall was in view. A brief glimpse of the forest and ocean beyond was visible before he reached the top.

The elevator stopped and only jerked downward slightly before the doors opened. Two guards stood there, their eyes hidden by dark glasses, turning to silently escort him down the carpeted hall. Akutagawa didn't acknowledge them, passing by them without even a glance.

At the end of the hall, two double-doors were pushed open for him by the guards. He stepped inside, giving a small bow. "Master Ougai."

At the end of a long table, Mori smiled. "Welcome, Akutagawa," he said jovially. A small girl sat on the table, coloring the white tablecloth with crayons, grinning unnervingly. As the doors closed shut behind him with an echoing _bang,_ Akutagawa only nodded in reply. Mori's smile settled into a smirk. "I suppose you know that I didn't call you here merely to greet you?"

Akutagawa shook his head, earning a chuckle from his boss. "Fine then. Why not have a seat?" Akutagawa didn't move. Mori carried on after only a small shrug. "I'll get right to it then. Our best client has requested you specifically for a job."

Akutagawa frowned, if it were possible for him to frown more. "You know I hate those leeching scum," he spat.

Mori nodded, his grin unwavering. "True, true," he said. "But I have a feeling that you'll leap at this opportunity."

With a huff, Akutagawa turned his back and began walking back to the door. "I'm not interested." He barely had his hand on the door handle before Mori said calmly,

"It's about Froslass."

As if chilled by the Snow Land Pokémon herself, Akutagawa froze. He heard Mori give a small _hmph_ of triumph.

"I thought you might be interested."

A small tug on his sleeve caused Akutagawa to look down. The unsettling girl smiled up at him with closed lips. She pulled him slowly back to the table, her eyes an odd mix of cheerfulness and guarded secrets.

"Thank you, Elise," Mori all but purred, patting the girl on the head when she skittered back to him after placing Akutagawa at the table's end. She beamed but said nothing, jumping back on the table, slightly obscuring Akutagawa's view of Mori.

"About Froslass," Akutagawa said, his eyes narrow. Mori nodded.

"Of course," he said, peering beyond Elise's red dress. "The truth of the matter is, Froslass managed to escape."

Akutagawa couldn't resist a hint of satisfaction at Mori's words. Did those fools expect anything different from her?

"They'd like you go get her back."

Any trace of the smirk that Akutagawa had barely shown was gone in an instant. "Bring her back?" he repeated, his voice low, "So they can attempt to kill her again?"

A darker, knowing look crossed Mori's ever-constant smile. "Not exactly."

Akutagawa narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand, sir."

Mori chuckled again as he opened up the file in front of him and pushed it forward. "Elise, be a dear and pass this to Akutagawa, please," he said. She crawled over, pulled the papers away, and crawled back, pushing them towards Akutagawa.

"In short," Mori said, his smile suddenly falling, "Our client has outlived their welcome."

* * *

"Welcome to Alola!" Dazai beamed, enthusiastically throwing a lei over Atsushi's neck. Atsushi stared at him.

"We haven't landed yet," he said. Cubone sat in his lap, staring out the plane window at the seemingly endless sea and the clouds that drifted below them.

Dazai shrugged. "Well, we've technically entered Alola's waters," he said. He pulled another lei out of his shopping bag, which had come from the gift shop at the airport. "Does Cubone want one?"

Atsushi reached out and took the flowers from Dazai's hand.

"I'll offer, but he'll probably eat it," he answered. As he poked Cubone in the back, he wondered out loud, "Is Alola warmer than Kanto?"

Dazai nodded. "Much warmer," he said, watching as Cubone turned around and peered at the lei that Atsushi dangled in front of his face. "We'll have to get you some more comfortable clothes when we get there."

Atsushi's eyes widened while Cubone took the lei and began nibbling on it. "Wait, you'll get me new clothes?!"

"Of course," Dazai said, now idly flipping through the pages of the plane's catalog. "We can't have you walking around in threadbare jeans and an oversized t-shirt."

Cubone had most of the lei in his mouth and began chomping on it. Atsushi's eyes widened; in his view, the man before him seemed like a saint that had opened his heart to the needs of a struggling orphan boy and his Pokémon. The full impact of Dazai's charity struck him, as well as the results of it. Atsushi was headed to a new life, far across the ocean, to be cared for by a stranger…

Actually, the more he thought about it, the less Dazai's actions seemed less like philanthropy and more like a kidnapping attempt.

"Are you sure you're not kidnapping me?" Atsushi asked out loud, but he immediately wanted to slap himself. Even Cubone paused from chewing to give him a look that read " _like a kidnapper would_ tell _you that, idiot_."

Dazai sighed. "Now what would I have to gain from that?" Dazai said nonchalantly, turning to the side as a stewardess passed by with a food cart. "You don't have any family, so I can't hold you for ransom, and you – one Big Malasada, please – you look like you weigh as much as a Drifloon, so I couldn't use you for child labor."

Atsushi frowned. "Yeah, but…"

"Malasada?" Dazai presented the bun to him with a smile, and Atsushi didn't hesitate to snatch it up, his wariness forgotten the instant the bun was in his mouth. In the corner of his eye, Cubone shook his head disdainfully, but Atsushi barely took notice of it.

The sky's light faded into deep black as the plane flew on, so that the clouds and sea beneath them were hidden under night's blanket.

"We left in the morning, though," Atsushi pointed out, his finger poking the window. "I guess the time zone is really different in Alola, huh?" He turned to Dazai, but his new guardian had headphones over his ears. He seemed to be watching some detective drama on the screen attached to the seat in front of him. A very _bloody_ detective drama. People were getting shot left and right and Dazai barely blinked. Atsushi flinched a little and shied back, using his hands to keep Cubone's gaze fixed to the game on their own screen. Thankfully, Cubone seemed fascinated enough with the bright colors and happy music that he didn't turn away until an out-of-place message crossed the screen and the lights labeled "FASTEN SEATBELTS" flashed above their heads.

" _Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. We'll be landing in Hau'Oli City shortly, so please stay in your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Please return your Pokémon to their Poké Balls or place them in your lap. Thank you_."

"That's unfortunate," Dazai sighed, pulling the headphones off of his ears. "I was almost to the end of _Dead Apple_ , too…"

Cubone growled when his screen switched to a generic "Thank you for flying with us!" message, accompanied by an overly-cartoony smiling Pidgeot.

With no bags to speak of, all Atsushi had to carry through the crowd to the plane door was Cubone, who squealed as he was jostled, shoved, and forced to wait behind people who moved very very slowly. The line cleared out as they entered the corridor to the terminal, and Dazai's suitcase squeaked as he trundled it behind them.

"Alola! Welcome to Alola!" dancers called out in greeting immediately after the group stepped into the airport. The girls' blue dresses flowed around their feet as they swayed and twirled the leis around their necks. Atsushi and Cubone marveled, but Dazai walked past them without a second glance.

"Our ride's waiting, Atsushi," he said, leaving Atsushi no choice but to hurry after him.

"I guess he's used to people like them," he said to Cubone, who nodded.

After picking up his other bag from the baggage claim, Dazai led Atsushi past snack bars selling tropical fruit and souvenir stands vending island-themed trinkets. Dazai didn't give them time to look closer at anything, though.

Noticing Atsushi's disappointed frown, Dazai gave him a small smile. "Don't worry; that's all fake, anyway," he said. "The real island experience is beyond these doors."

Atsushi stopped in place as the sliding glass doors in front of them parted automatically, letting moonlight and the scent of flowers waft in on the ocean breeze.

"Atsushi," Dazai said with a beaming smile, "This is-!"

"DAZAAAAAAII!"

Dazai visibly deflated. "My friend Kunikida."

Atsushi leaped back as a blonde ball of fury rushed through the doors and began shaking Dazai back and forth.

"Dazai! You impudent waste of time! Do you realize how late your flight was? And for that matter, how brazen and uncalled for this 'business trip' of yours was?! I had to cancel three of your appointments, clean up after your Pokémon, and take care of that child that didn't even have the confidence to _feed herself_ , putting me hours behind schedule, and making _your_ work pile up to the ceiling!" he screamed in Dazai's face.

"You're so mean, Kunikida," he muttered calmly despite being tossed around like a rag doll. "Besides, you're scaring Atsushi."

Kunikida stopped abruptly, turning and apparently finally noticing Atsushi and Cubone. He bowed once politely. "Sorry, it's just that my associate here-!" he paused again. Looking Atsushi up and down, realization crossed his face like Confusion clearing up. Whipping around to Dazai with his scowl back on his face, he shouted, "You brought _another_ one?!"

Cubone tilted his head, and Atsushi voiced his concern. "What does he mean, 'another one?'"

Dazai waved his hand as if brushing off Atsushi's words. "Just that you won't be the first of my houseguests," he said dismissively.

"Houseguests?" Kunikida scoffed, taking his hands off of Dazai's collar and crossing them over his chest. "You mean _dependents_. You don't have the budget for another one. The girl's already a deadweight, not to mention that Pikachu of yours."

"Not a problem," Dazai said, throwing his arm around Atsushi's shoulder, causing him to jump. "Atsushi will be earning his own money; he'll be taking on the Island Challenge!"

Kunikida raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He peered down at Atsushi through his glasses. "How old are you, brat?"

Atsushi flinched at the insult, but replied quietly, "Sixteen…"

Kunikida frowned. "He's a little old to be doing it."

Dazai shrugged. "Kahuna Fukuzawa shouldn't mind," he said.

"Hey, wait!" Atsushi spoke up, pulling away from Dazai. "This wasn't part of the deal! I never agreed to go on an island quest-!"

"Island Challenge," Kunikida corrected quickly.

"Whatever!" Atsushi burst out. Worry lines creased his face as he gripped Cubone tighter. "I don't want to do any challenge! You said I'd be safe!"

Dazai nodded. "And you will be. With Pokémon at your side, at least," he said. "It's just like a vacation. The Island Challenge is simply a little adventure so that you meet new people and Pokémon and prove your strength."

"But I don't have any strength!" Atsushi refuted.

"No one does when they're starting out," Dazai reassured him, putting his hand on his shoulder once again. "Besides, you'll earn money from it."

Atsushi froze. Even Cubone looked straight up at Dazai.

"Did you say money?" Atsushi said slowly. Dazai smirked a little.

"Of course," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing on the screen. "Every time you beat a trainer, you get money. Every time you beat a Trial, you get money. Every time you beat a Kahuna, you get money. And when you beat the Elite Four," he paused to show Atsushi the screen. "You get _rich_."

Atsushi's wide eyes stared at the figure. With money like that, he could buy clothes, a bed, food for Cubone, not to mention mountains of Malasada…

"Island Challenge, here we come!" he shouted, bursting out the doors with fervor. Even Cubone let out a battle cry.

The two were immediately met by stares from those being dropped off at the airport and others piling into taxi cabs. Atsushi stood there for a moment, thrill gone and throat dry, before slinking back to Dazai, who laughed as he pushed Atsushi forward again.

"Quite you the show you put on, Atsushi! I can't wait to see you use that in your Challenge!" he grinned. Kunikida sighed.

"He's already a handful…"

As they walked to Kunikida's car, Atsushi slowly regained his voice. "Hey, Dazai?" He was met with a small _hm_ from his new guardian, so he continued. "Why didn't the airport security stop Kunikida? You'd think that someone getting throttled would be a reason for the police to step in…"

"Oh, they're used to us by now," Dazai said without glancing back at him. "That happens about every time I step into this airport."

Once again, Atsushi wondered what on Earth he was getting into. Still in his arms, Cubone let out a defeated sigh.


End file.
